Word of the Day

: June 26, 2009

crescent

adjective KRESS-unt

What It Means

: marked by an increase : increasing

crescent in Context

"The people love me, and the sea is mine; / My powers are crescent, and my auguring hope / Says it will come to th' full." (William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra)

Did You Know?

You probably know "crescent" as the shape of a moon that is less than half-illuminated. These days, "crescent" is generally used of either a waxing or waning moon, but that wasn't always the case. Originally, it referred only to the increasing illumination phase that immediately follows the new moon. That original meaning nicely reflects the meaning of the word's Latin ancestor "crescere," which means "to grow." The meaning of "crescere" also shines through when we use "crescent" as an adjective meaning "increasing" or "growing." English speakers have been using "crescent" in this way since the 16th century.